SWEDEN
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The city that floats on water
What a surprise! I thought I had seen enough of the beautiful cities in the world, having fallen in love at first sight with Montreal, picking some years ago Sidney to retire in but quickly taken in by Helsinki most recently, Stockholm (capital of Sweden) came out of nowhere to capture my heart. Knowing so little about this city and heard even less from friends and associates in the past, Baltic's largest seaport with its harbour opening into an archipelago of 24,000 islands can only be described as incredibly charming and absolutely adorable. Waters were everywhere and cobblestone streets and enchanting 15th and 16th century buildings adorned the city at every turn. Gamla Stan (or the Old Town), restored from its slum image and appearance of the 19th century, was now prettier than the old towns found in Montreal or Quebec City. Interesting stores and sidewalk cafes, which lined the two narrow main streets in this section of Stockholm, lent marvelous appeal to attract the swarm of tourists to this area. The Nobel Institute hands out the Nobel Prizes in Stockholm every year. The Royal Palace, Europe's largest, has housed the Royal Famiy for over 800 years. The King and Queen of Sweden still work there (but live elsewhere now). With 608 rooms, it beats Buckingham Palace in London by one room. The picture below was taken in front of the Grand Hotel (where Nobel laureates usually stay) with the Parliament and the Opera House in the background across the canal. |
HOME DOVER KIEL CANAL BERLIN BALTIC SEA ST. PETERSBURG • Hermitage 1 • Hermitage 2 • Peterhof HELSINKI STOCKHOLM COPENHAGEN • Tivoli Gardens OSLO
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The Vasa Museum
Stockholm's top tourist attraction is the world's oldest identifiable ship, the Vasa. This 17th century battle ship capsized and sank in the Stockholm harbour a few hundred yards from the pier where it was launched on its maiden voyage in 1628. An inquiry was conducted but the boat was largely forgotten for over 300 years and not found until 1956 just off the coast of the Swedish captial. The Baltic Sea's brackish waters (meaning not very salty) do not support the worms that usually eat through sunken ships' timber and the elaborately decorated Vasa was preserved remarkably well over three centuries. The ship was raised from the 110 feet seabed in 1961 with more than 24,000 items on board. Experts had to piece together 14,000 fragments recovered from the deep in order to restore the Vasa for display now in low light and high humidity at the new Vasa Museum. I saw a television documentary film on the discovery and restoration of the Vasa some years ago and never thought that I would have a chance to see the ship in person. I am very impressed and satisfied that I could see it on this trip. |
